Primary Races Go Downto Wire, Too Close To Call

Name-calling Mars Battle In District 90

With primary election results still unclear late Tuesday, candidates in Palm Beach County's five state House races were hesitant to declare victory.

Palm Beach County's legislative delegation will remain strongly Democratic, however, even if Republicans win their races in November.

Name-calling, an ethics complaint and allegations of dirty campaigning highlighted the race to replace Democrat Irv Slosberg in District 90, which extends from west of Boca Raton to Delray Beach and into northern Broward County. By 11 p.m., the race was too close to call.

Democrat Kelly Skidmore and her supporters gathered at Duffy's Sports Grill in Boca Raton, where television monitors were spread throughout the room and anxiously scanned for updates.

"It's been a great experience, but at this point there's only so much you can do," Skidmore said.

Skidmore was vying for the House seat against Len Turesky, Harvey Arnold, Sheldon Klasfeld and write-in candidate Manuel Press.

The race got negative at points, with Turesky's campaign distributing a flier that depicted her as Pinocchio, questioning her title as chief of staff to Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton.

Skidmore charged that Pinocchio's slightly deformed hand in the brochure was meant as a jab at her rheumatoid arthritis.

No matter who won race for House District 86, the new representative will be a rookie in cumbent. Like several South Florida races, there also was no Republican challenger, making Tuesday's primary the final arbiter of this race. State Rep. Anne Gannon is running for Palm Beach County Tax Collector.

Four Democrats and a write-in candidate who effectively closed the primary to just Democrats battled for this House seat, which takes in parts of Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton.

With what appeared to be a win against Howard Sims, Christian Chiari now must focus his race against Republican incumbent Ellyn Bogdanoff, who narrowly won House District 91 two years ago.

"I am very proud to be standing tonight as the Democratic nominee for District 91," Chiari said in a telephone interview.

Chiari, 32, said his campaign intended to woo disaffected voters, as well as those registered as "other" or with "no party affiliation." But Republicans dominate the district, which stretches along the coast from Boca Raton to Dania Beach.

"Voters will recognize that one campaign is working too hard to earn the right to lead this district, and one representative will continue to lead on the interests of her largest donors to her campaign," Chiari said.

With no Republican opponent, Democrat Richard Machek, 68, was hopeful that he had won his state representative seat for House District 78, which he has held since 2000. But chiropractor Steve Perman, who unexpectedly challenged Machek, was not giving up.

"I'm ahead by a little bit but not much, I hope I'm the victor," Machek said. "[Perman] is a valid opponent, he's a good challenger."

Perman was delighted with the results.

"I think it's great," Perman said. "I worked my tail off, it all comes down to tonight. Until I have reason to think otherwise, I feel that I'm up in it."

Incumbent Shelley Vana appeared poised to beat her challenger, businessman Jeff Murphy, in the Democratic primary and would face Republican Rob Siedlecki for the House District 85 seat in November.

Slow election results made for an anxious wait at Tree's Wings & Ribs in Royal Palm Beach, where 20 of Vana's supporters gathered for a celebration. By 10 p.m., Vana was didn't want to get too confident despite her lead, and she worried about a getting a good night's rest. The results appeared promising for Vana, though.

"I'm a regular person who works a regular job, which is why I think people like me," said Vana, 54, who was first elected to the state House four years ago.

"When they look at me, they see somebody who has the same concerns, problems, happiness, sadness that they have."

Vana, past president of the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, had to defend her legislative record, which Murphy called into question. Vana said she helped kill Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to weaken the class-size amendment and depicted herself as the go-to person on education matters.

District 85, which includes mostly western communities in central Palm Beach County, is about 36 percent Republican and 39 percent Democrat, with the rest registered as independents.

Nancy L. OthM-sn can be reached at nothon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6633.